County still owed $3.6 million in unpaid property taxes

Wonder who hasn’t paid their 2016 county property taxes yet? Just look inside today's edition of The Daily News.

According to Onslow County Tax Administrator Harry Smith, Onslow County still has $3,599,830 in uncollected property taxes, a number half of what it was just a month ago.

A Daily News report earlier this year noted that Onslow County had $6.9 million in unpaid property taxes in 2016, and the names of those who didn’t pay by Feb. 24 would be published in the March 20 Daily News. The published list serves as one of several legal remedies to collect payments, including wage garnishment, attach bank account, levy and sale of personal property, foreclosure of real estate, and submission to the North Carolina Debt-Setoff Program.

In an email to The Daily News, Smith reported 4,833 parcels with unpaid property taxes. About 275 accounts have paid their property taxes since the list was sent to The Daily News. Among some of the highest unpaid accounts in the list are McRae Farms LLC, which is listed as owing more than $25,000; Shiva Two Inc, at more than $38,000; and Mararo Properties LLC, at $27,000.

Paying property taxes is more than just keeping names out of the newspaper, Smith said: It’s important for local government.

“Basically it supports the services local government is responsible for providing to citizens,” he said. “It’s important for everybody to pay to be able to fund and deliver those services.”

Onslow County residents who still need to do so can pay their property taxes several ways: